Abdul-Jabbar has authored and co-authored a number of print publications (as well as the tremendous self-publishing he does on his website) that cover a range of cultural topics - basketball, sure; but his focus on writing about African American history and cultural impact for a range of audiences (from children to adult) has been tremendous. Kareem was the original “triple threat” in my book - athlete, actor, and public scholar. At UCLA he was a tremendous student athlete as a history major.

Dave Cutler:

As the previous comment says, Abdul-Jabbar is about as serious a progressive intellectual as you’ll find in the world of people famous for other things. I’d want him to run for office—he’d be a great choice to represent NY in the Senate—except that I can’t imagine he’d have more patience with some of those buffoons than he did with Kent Benson those many years ago. Heaven knows I’d sock them if I had the chance.

Parkwood1920:

Damn! An elderly male pro-athlete writes a review of white-dominated pseudo-feminist TV show aimed at millenials from an intersectional feminist perspective. Who says Black men in sports aren’t feminist? And to top it off, he calls out the show’s female head writer for short-changing women characters! Could this get any better?

See folks! Intersectionality ain’t hard!

Waleska Lopez:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may be my new favorite reviewer!

Abra Johnson:

Abdul-Jabbar is not just a former baller, he’s also a scholar. Folks should know more about him.

Jennifer Bowman:

He name-checked “Wonderfalls”? This man is the truth! I enjoyed a few episodes of Girls last season—particularly the one where the naive girl accidentally smoked crack at a party and hi-jinks ensued. It was pretty hilarious! But, I agree about Abdul-Jabbar’s point regarding Donald Glover. I’m all for interracial relationships, but the brother seems to be a plot point more than a character. It’s really extinguished what little interest I had in the show already. … I’d also like to thank Abdul-Jabbar for analyzing Girls without discussing Lena Dunham’s appearance or weight. That angle is getting OLD.

This isn’t an expression of shock as much as it is just acknowledging that DV amongst same sex couples is an issue that we NEVER hear about or discuss in a meaningful way on a large scale. I mean…we’re just now getting around to properly addressing DV in hetero couples.

Amun Rah Williams:

Maybe if this country stopped dividing people based on race, gender orientation/ identity, and religion, we would be able to tackle issues like DV amongst all unions, unilaterally, rather than in a piecemeal sort of way. DV effects all victims the same.

Georgia NeSmith:

Are you shocked that there is DV among same sex couples? Really? Same sex couples are no different than heterosexual couples.

Crystal Carrera:

In dealing with domestic violence, something as “silly” and putting soy sauce on a plate could be the thing to trigger the batterer and set them off on their partner. It’s part of the coercive control that exists in this type of relationship. I think that if this were a heterosexual or same-sex couple, people from the outside looking in would classify that as a “silly issue” but it have grave results for the victim. I think the public needs to become more educated on the issues of domestic, regardless of relationship type, because the dynamics and coercion are still there, and very much subtle.

For those who will post the knee-jerk rant about Chicago’s tight gun laws apparently having no effect: [link]

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